US Cities With The Worst Traffic

Nobody loves traffic. Everybody hates it so much, and we all wish it could go away. However, it doesn’t go away, and we all have to deal with it. Commuters in the urban area collectively lost 3.1 billion gallons of fuel and 6.9 billion hours due to traffic delays last year. According to a study done recently, this problem is worse in some urban areas where lost productivity and excess fuel cost American commuters a total of $160 billion in 2014 which went up from $114 billion in 2000.

24/7 Wall St. reviewed the highest number of hours lost by each auto commuter annually to traffic delays in more than 400 cities in the U.S. This is the data that was used to determine the most congested cities in America. Here are the cities with the worst traffic according to this study:

Washington DC

According to the study, commuters in Washington DC waste the most time in traffic than residents of any other city. Every year, a regular commuter spends 82 additional hours in traffic delays. This is half the time drivers lost in the same city in the year 1982. The total annual hours lost due to delays collectively are 204.4 million. The annual cost of these delays per commuter is $1834 while the total congestion cost summed up to $4.6 billion

Los Angeles

Los Angeles area that is US 101 South and Northbound and 1-10 eastbound is the most congested nation’s corridor. A typical commuter in this city loses approximately 80 hours per year in traffic due to delays. Here, traffic is unpredictable, and this only adds more stress than even in Washington. The total congestion cost of this area is $13.3 billion. LA has the longest rush hour compared with other cities.

San Francisco-Oakland, CA

California is the proud home to four of the most congested areas in America. This includes San Francisco-Oakland; CA. Drivers in this area lose 146 million hours collectively with an annual cost of $1675 per commuter. Between lost productivity and excess fuel, traffic delays cause these drivers $3.1 billion in congestion costs.

Boston, MA-NH-RI

The Boston urban area is known to have some of the worst traffic congestion. Here, drivers spend an additional of 64 hours each and a congestion cost of $1388 per driver. The total congestion cost for this city is $3.4 billion annually.

Seattle, WA

Rush hour traffic is so bad in Seattle area. Drivers spend a total of 139.8 hours in traffic delays. The annual cost per commuter is $1491, and this gives a total congestion cost of $3.3 billion between lost productivity and excess fuel. It is estimated that it takes a Seattle driver over 41 minutes in the peak hours to travel a distance that would have taken less than 30 minutes if there was no traffic.

New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT

This is the most populous urban area in the country. It is home to over 19 million people and as a result, the delays in traffic congestion and the costs are higher. Auto commuters will lose an annual cost of $1739 per commuter. This costs around $14.7 billion total in congestion costs. Four of the most congested road stretches are in New York.

San Jose, CA

Even with a small population of 3 million people, it is one of the most congested urban areas. Here, the commuters lose 67 hours each annually which makes it a total of 104.6 million hours of delay per year for every commuter. The annual cost per commuter is $1422 which makes a total congestion cost of $2.2 billion.